What we have here is an absolutely fascinating album which makes me want to go out and discover more music by Rahul, as somehow, he has managed to combine rock music and Indian elements into something which is a complete fusion of the two cultures. The album title is a linguistic fusion of mridangam (a double-headed percussion instrument core to Carnatic music), handpan (a melodic steel drum), and guitar, reflecting the core purpose of the project: collaboration. Guitarist Mukerji has then brought in multiple guests to help achieve the outcome wants, including prominent South Indian mridangam artist Praveen Sparsh, Leo Margarit, drummer for Pain of Salvation, Ruben Rubio, versatile Spanish bassist, and Chaplin, a South African pianist known for evocative tonal moods. There is also a Duduk player from Turkey, a clarinettist from France, and a violinist from Sri Lanka alongside talented local instrumentalists.
It is not all Indian music combined with shredding but instead is a carefully constructed journey of sounds which refuse to confirm to how albums are normally compiled. Take “Enjoymaddi” for example, the first two minutes are solo piano from Chaplin, who is then joined by Mukerji who is bending note enough to turn it into something quite different. The more one listens to the more one realises that not only is it always making musical sense but the differing styles are being brought together in such a manner that it feels like they have always been that way, and this approach is nothing new, but to my ears I confess to having heard nothing quite like it. In some way it makes me think of Dewa Budjana and his approach with Indonesian music, but there he tends to stay true to more fusion based elements whereas Mukerji appears to be approaching this more from a Satriani perspective. The result is fascinating, and well worthy of attention.
Rating: 8/10
Links:
https://mukerji.us/